Slang is Not Appropriate
by RosaEldi
Summary: Set after KH2. Riku is sick of being on the island, but would rather die than endanger his friends again.  So, when Sora gets a message calling the Keyblade Master back into action, he jumps at the chance to leave.  But his escape doesn't go as planned.
1. Catching Up

_How long has it been? _Waves lapped gently at his feet and legs. The night wind wove itself between the strands of his hair, dragging the ends through the sand.

_When was the last time things were truly normal?_ The stars shone brightly, peeking around the sparse clouds. The stars… each one was a world all its own, with people and problems and all manner of traditions and music and cultures. Each one was unique. Most were ignorant of other worlds. And there were thousands. Millions even.

He sighed, his thoughts proving his point. Nothing was the same. It never would be. They had all changed. And would stay changed. A sad smile played on his features. Sora. He said it was over. Ansem was defeated, as well as Organization XIII, so all was well. That's what he said to Kairi, at least. He didn't bother to saying it to Riku. They both knew better.

Light and Darkness were Eternal, and people were imperfect. It would happen again. Sora was the Keyblade Master, and would be until the day he died. Sora knew it. It weighed heavily on his shoulders, and it showed.

Kairi knew it too. She always smiled and played along with Sora's optimistic words. Being the strength he desperately needed. But Riku saw the fear. The fear of Sora leaving and not coming back.

He clenched his fists in the sand. The disturbed particles sparking in the starlight. The moon was blissfully absent tonight. He'd rather not see every detail of his home right now. It didn't matter anyway. He knew it all without having to look. It was still… still the same. The same as it had been when he'd opened the door over three years ago. When he'd left, and taken his friends with him.

They were happy here. He hadn't been. So, he selfishly just took everything away. Kairi lost her heart. And Sora got forcibly thrust into a 'Save the Worlds' campaign. Couldn't he have just become an angsty teenager and just dealt with his problems like everyone else?

He looked at the stars again. Even now, he wanted to leave. To go somewhere else. There was nothing for him here. Short of Sora, Kairi, and himself, no one knew what had happened. But he had changed. Sora was still fundamentally Sora, if a little more matured. And Kairi was still herself. He had withdrawn into himself. Every time he looked at anyone, he could see all the trouble and pain he had caused. They avoided him. And he avoided them.

The wind changed, pulling his hair across his bare chest and into his face. He didn't belong here. He had changed, but the people hadn't. He and his father still didn't agree. After being gone so long, all he'd gotten from his father was a, "Where the hell have you been?" yelled angrily at his face. Well, nothing was right in that portion of his life.

He needed to bow off some energy. He stood; brushing sand off the shorts he used as pajamas, and waded into the water up to his waist. At that he dove into the ocean, swimming swiftly for the small island that stood away from the main ones.

Normally people used boats. The island was a little far away to swim. That never stopped Riku. Getting his boat meant his father, who never seemed to sleep.

He let the water calm him. Losing himself in physical exertion, simply existing in the rhythm of movement. The water sliding, flowing past easily. He coasted to a stop, twisting so he faced the sky. He floated on his back watching the stars. The familiar desire to find a way to leave stirred in his mind.

No.

Never again. He would not ever take that risk again. Sora was taking a well-deserved break. He smirked; if you could call term finals a break.

His fingertips dragged against sand at the bottom of the now shallow water. Riku had drifted to the small island that had served as their playground as children. He sat down, the water lapping smoothly around his torso, looking about at the place that held so many bittersweet memories.

Destiny Islands

He stood, his hair plastered to his back. Hair he had never bothered to cut. He pulled it forward, twisting it to squeeze most of the water from it. Now that he looked at it, it really was very long. It hung down past his waist, the ends brushed his upper thigh as he tossed it back over his shoulder.

Riku waded to shore. Taking in the simplicity of this place. He pushed his long bangs from his eyes, letting the sea wind caress his face. He'd always come here to get away. Away form homework, school, chores, his father, or whatever. A place to exist without the influence of the adults on the main islands.

So many memories. So many things. Riku walked slowly, in a daze of remembrance, toward a hole in a stone cliff face partially covered by vines. The sand, still warm from the sun, wrapped around his bare feet.

He ducked inside, hair dragging on the ground as the low, narrow passage forced him to crouch. The passage opened up into a small cavern, a place he had not visited in years.

His heart twisted at the pictures scratched onto the wall. He and Sora had put them there. Playing make believe adventures that took them far from home.

One of the pictures caught his eye. He recognized it, but it had been changed since he had last seen it. _And how long ago was that?_, a sneering voice reminded him. Riku ignored the voice and knelt down by the picture. The picture, when he had last seen it, had shown Kairi and Sora. He remembered Sora's pride when he had dragged Riku to the secret place to show him what he and Kairi had done. Riku recalled commenting on how good Kairi's was, and how Sora needed art lessons. Bad. Riku smiled at the memory. Neither of them could draw well, but he and Sora were always doing things like that. Making little pointless jabs at each other.

The picture, however, had been added to. Judging by the artwork, both Sora and Kairi had done it. The Sora and Kairi on the wall now were depicted feeding Paopu fruit to each other. He ran his fingers over the drawing.

"When two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They become a part of each other's lives. No matter what." Riku quoted. He smiled, hoping the drawing would come true.

He looked up from the cave wall, to the very back of the cave. There, placed into the wall, was a wooden door. A door without a knob or a handle, and it didn't open inward.

The door.

He sat there, going over memories in his head, trying to find the answers he was looking for. He didn't know when. When the memories became dreams, but he slept. Curled into a ball on the dirt floor of the cave, hair fanned out behind him, face contorted in sorrow and fear.

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Her hand slammed down on her alarm clock, cutting off the harsh sound.

She sat up, red hair ratted and messy from sleep. Kairi blinked a couple of times, yawned, and dragged herself out of bed.

After stumbling into her bathroom and after fumbling for the light, she faced herself in the mirror. She'd cut her hair recently, so she still wasn't quite used to her new look just yet. Not to mention the fact that the shorter layers were making a wonderful impersonation of Sora.

She fixed her hair and got dressed and ready for the day. Sora used to ask her why she got up so early. She just smiled and kept it to herself. Her mother always said, a girl's got to have her secrets.

If she didn't get up early, she wouldn't finish before school started. That was all she told him. He instantly asked, "Finish what?" But that, she had never said.

Kairi walked quietly down the street in the dark. It was only 5:00 so the sun wasn't quite up yet. She reached the dock where her boat was silently getting in and untying it.

She had begun this morning ritual after Sora and Riku had returned over a year ago. As a reminder of all that had happened to them. She didn't want to forget. It seemed wrong to her. All the friends they might never see again, the people who had died. It would be too easy to just… move on. But just because you couldn't see them everyday, didn't mean they stopped existing.

So everyday, before school, she rowed out to Destiny Islands, where all of this started.

It was a place to be alone, to think. No one was there this early, and she used the time to sort problems out. Everything from school to what she was going to do if Sora left again.

She tied off her boat at the dock, fixing her skirt, and headed off in the secret place.

Kairi took off her sandal and wiggled her toes in the sand, pleasantly cool. She ducked into the passage, brushing the dirt off her clothes as she entered the main cavern. She noticed something different, she wasn't alone this morning.

"Riku?" Upon closer inspection, she found him to be asleep. Curled into a tight ball, whimpering softly, and shivering a little with cold.

Kairi sat next to her friend. She wished she'd brought her coat or something to cover him with. He had no shirt and no shoes. And the shorts he was wearing were slightly damp, as was his hair. It was winter. Despite the fact that the days were warm, the nights could get kinda cold. Riku whimpered in his sleep, twisting Kairi's heart a little in her chest.

"You still haven't forgiven yourself, have you?" She said softly. She had thought he'd moved on. Gotten over it, or something, but he looked scared.

"Riku." She shook him lightly, "Riku." Kairi crooned. "Riku, come on, wake up." His dreams became more troubled, his whimpers became moans, his face contorted in fear and pain.

"No…" he muttered under his breath. Kairi shook him harder, hoping to wake him. "Stop…p-pleased."

"Riku!" Kairi shouted, concern lacing her voice.

"STOP!" Riku screamed lashing out at Kairi. He grabbed her arm forcing her to the ground, pressing his forearm aggressively to her throat, cutting off airflow in one smooth motion. His eyes were wide but unseeing, still wrapped in the tendril of his nightmare.

"Ri…ku…!" She gasped. _Wake up! Wake up!_ She struggled against him but he was stronger and heavier than her. "Riku…"

Realization dawned in his green eyes, "Kairi?" He whispered slowly. She nodded quickly. Riku became aware of his Kairi-life-endangering position and leapt off her, landing on the other side of the cave. "Oh God. Are you okay?" His heavy pants echoed about the small space.

"I'm fine, Riku." She wheezed. When did he learn that? It was a reaction. It was practiced and smooth. When was he in a situation where those kinds of reflexes were necessary? He easily could have killed her. "I'm fine." She repeated her voice stronger. "Are you? You look cold."

He shrugged, "I've been worse." His long bangs hung in his face, concealing his expression from view. He was shivering and damp. Though she couldn't be sure the shivering was because of the cold.

"Did you sleep here?" The concern was evident in her voice.

He paused before nodding slowly. Riku's eyes were intent on watching the ground, the walls, the sky, anywhere but at Kairi.

"That bad, huh?" Kairi asked. Riku's family issues were well known between the three of them. Their severity hadn't been known until the time Riku had climbed into Sora's window, sporting a black eye, bloody lip, and tears. He had been twelve at the time.

"The usual." He sighed. A shiver ran down his spine. Damn, it was cold. His hair and shorts were still damp form his swim the night before and making it hard to get warm. "Nothing too bad. I left before it got too far." He rested his head in his hands, elbows on knees. His hair hung curtain-like around him, the early morning sun streaming through the hole in the roof, gilding it bright, liquid silver. Flowing from head to shoulders, rippling to puddle on the floor.

"Riku?"

"Hm?" He grunted, not moving.

"When was the last time you cut your hair?" She asked, walking over and lifting a section of hair away from his eyes.

"I haven't cut it since before we left." His eyes refused to meet hers. He shifted away a little.

"Well, you should."

"Huh?" He looked up at her standing figure, taken aback by her statement.

"The bangs at least," she continued, "You've got gorgeous eyes, why not show 'em off?" She sat next to him. "You know, it's funny, I didn't notice how long your hair was until just barely, but it's really long, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess it is." His voice was dry with humor. Riku allowed himself to chuckle a little.

"Well," Kairi said glancing at her watch, "School starts in a bit and you have to go to work." She jokingly shook her finger at him. She looked him over, "And despite how sexy you look like that, you should probably change your clothes first."

"Yeah," he smiled, and then quickly looked embarrassed. "Uh… Kairi?"

"Hm?"

"Can I have a ride home?"

At that, all she could do was laugh.

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"Welcome to Island Burger, home of the Sunny Shake. May I take your order?" Riku intoned, forcing a smile. How could anyone smile working here? The little speech you had to make to EVERY customer was bad enough. Add the baseball cap, complete with palm tree protruding out the top, and it was simply humiliating.

The customer looked him over, trying to hold back laughter at his hairnet, and began to mutter out their order. Riku punched it in, mind elsewhere. He relayed the order to the kitchen and gave the customer their total. Once it arrived, he gave them their order. Mindless work. No thought required.

He was bored out of his mind.

It was Monday morning, there was next to nobody there, and he had not received a good sleep the night before.

After Kairi had helped him home (Riku was rowing) he'd quietly sneaked through his house trying to make as little noise as possible. His father had been found snoring heavily, passed out on the couch. Beer cans littered the floor and some woman Riku didn't recognize was straddling him, naked from the waist down.

Imagination not necessary.

Forcing the images and scenes into the back of his head, he tiptoed quickly upstairs to his room.

It was a mess. Nothing unexpected, especially considering he was hardly ever home long enough to clean it._ Let's see now, where is that garish costume they dare call a 'uniform'?_

Spotting it, he shoved it into his backpack, threw on a clean shirt (smelled clean anyway), slipped on his shoes, and headed out.

His mind was turned inward in an attempt to avoid looking at the couch scene again. In his avoidance, he crashed into a table, sending the plates precariously balanced on the edge to be shattered on the floor.

"Oh, shit." Riku froze. Sure enough his father woke at the crashing of glass on his floor. He turned, spotting Riku as he was edging toward the door.

"Riku!" His son stopped moving. "Finally decided to bring your sorry ass home, eh?" He stood, dumping the woman on the couch and zipping up his pants. His speech was horribly slurred.

"You're drunk. Go back to sleep." Riku said and moved to the door. Though outwardly calm, his heart beat hard and fast in his chest.

A knife lodged itself in the wall about an inch from Riku's nose. "You'll shtay dere until I shay oderwise, boy."

Riku stood still for a moment longer before bolting out the door, a second knife just missing the last of his hair as he rounded the corner.

He'd been late of course. After being shouted at and apologizing profusely he was set to cashier duty.

Hence how he was here in Fast Food Hell.

The door alert chimed as people entered the restaurant. Glancing up, he saw a familiar spiky brown head, and Kairi close behind. _Oh, damn._ You see, while he had told his friends he had a job, Riku had failed (intentionally) to mention where.

God, this was embarrassing.

"Hey, Rob, can I take a break?" He called back to the manager.

"After the lunch rush," was the reply.

In desperation Riku pulled his hat over his eyes and pitched his voice way higher than usual. "Welcome to Island Burger, home of the Sunny Shake. May I take your order?" _Don't notice. Don't notice. Yeah, silver hair, oddly pale skin. Oh yeah, they're gonna look right past you. Yeah right._

"Riku?" Sora looked under Riku's hat to meet his eyes, mildly confused.

Riku let out a nervous laugh, "H-hey, Sora. What's up?"

"This is where you work?" He asked, folding his arms and pouting slightly. "Why didn't you tell—."

"Can we talk about this later?" Riku glanced over his shoulder at his manager. "I'm kinda being watched. May I take your order? He asked, quickly adopting his cheerful cashier persona.

"'Kay." Sora answered, stifling a chuckle, eyes locked on Riku's hat. Kairi was a little more composed, only once bursting into a fit of giggles while they ordered.

As she ate, Kairi watched Riku work. It was not the sort of job she would ever picture him having, but come to think of it, what could she see him doing? She went through a mental list of jobs that were available to post-high school kids. Over half were in restaurants or fast food joints, not good for Riku. He had a short temper and had no people skills. She glanced over at him politely taking someone's order, no _active_ people skills, anyway.

The other jobs involved hard labor or phone surveys. Hard labor paid pretty well, and Riku was strong, but most of the people who worked there _hated_ Riku. No, not a good choice. Other than his current job, that left phone surveys, which would bore Riku silly. Any other job required vocational training or a college education, neither of which Riku had the money for.

It seemed like Riku would be stuck here, in a job and life he hated forever. With the obvious exception of herself, most of the girl now avoided him. Unlike before, he was often moody and distant and despite his eye-catching good looks, was deemed 'not worth it' by most females. So he would also remain alone.

Thinking back, the occupation of 'Wandering Vagabond' had suited him nicely. Being able to go wherever he wished, helping where he saw fit, stayed where he wanted, and leaving when he felt like it. Not tied to any one place.

"…ri?"

"Huh?" Kairi snapped out of her reverie.

"Are you awake? You're kinda zoned out." Sora smiled.

"Yeah, just thinking."

"Well, lunch is gonna end soon so we should probably head back to class." Sora picked up their garbage and walked to the trash. Kairi watched him as he walked. He—of course—had grown. He was taller, though still shorter than Riku. His shoulders had broadened, and he no longer had the awkward look of a child. But the biggest change was his eyes. They were deep, mature, and held the glint of someone who had experienced pain and seen suffering. But he was still Sora. A complete goofball.

Much to her horror, the bell finalizing lunch rang in the distance.

"Sora! We're late!"

Riku watched his friends bolt out the door with a smile on his face. A smile which turned to restrained laughter when the swinging door Kairi had opened whipped back to whack Sora in the face.

"…ir? Excuse me, sir?"

He started at the customer trying to get his attention, he responded with an eloquent, "Huh? Oh. Welcome to Island Burger, home of the Sunny Shake. May I take your order?"

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"Hey, Sora?" Kairi asked as they sprinted toward school, "Wanna meet me after school? I've got something to talk to you about."

"Sure." He replied. While her voice had been slightly breathless, his was sure and steady. Obviously in better shape. "I'll meet you then by the flag pole!" Smiling brightly Sora turned on to a different path, running to his class on the other end of campus.

Kairi smiled back, waving as she tried to formulate an excuse to give her anal English teacher.

By the time Sora managed to leave the school house, Kairi was waiting for him. The bright afternoon sun accentuated the reds in her hair and the healthy glow of her skin. Beautiful. He dashed over to her, his heart nearly skipping a beat when she spotted him and smiled.

"Hey, Kairi." He said when he caught up to her and they started walking. "What's up? You wanted to talk to me, right?"

"Have you talked to Riku lately?" She asked her eyes unreadable.

"Not really. Between school and him working full time, he's kinda hard to get a hold of. But hey, at least now we know where he works!" He said cheerfully. Typical Sora. Definitely a glass-half-full kinda guy. "Why?"

"I'm worried about him. We never see him and he doesn't hang out with anyone else. I don't want him to be all alone." Kairi was thinking about something specific, and Sora wished he knew. What ever it was, it was troubling her.

Sora sighed. Granted, he hadn't seen Riku in a while, but he still knew Riku the best. He had problems letting go of past mistakes. Riku hadn't been happy on the island to start with, and now it was one constant reminder of all the mistakes he had made. And boy, had he made some mistakes.

"Kairi, did something happen?" Sora asked. "To Riku I mean." Kairi looked at him as if considering something.

"Sora, remember when you asked why I get up so early?"

"Yeah."

"Well," she looked slightly embarrassed. Their walk had taken them to the dock where they often left their boats. "Why don't I show you?" She took Sora to her boat and had him paddle out while she talked. "I go out to our island where we all used to play together. To the secret place." She fell silent for a moment staring out at the open water. "It's kinda like paying my respects. We've met so many people we may never see again. And we've been through so much, it just seems wrong to let it fade away."

Their boat had reached the dock on the smaller island, Sora tied it off and helped Kairi out. She smiled at him and took his hand in hers. She led him to the end of the dock and sat, pulling Sora down to sit next to her.

Sora had to admit, he missed this. The ocean wind tugging at his hair, sun warm on his face, and watching the world go by with someone you love.

"So, what happened?" Sora asked.

"When I went there this morning, I found Riku sleeping there. He was having a nightmare, and he looked like he was in pain." It wasn't _all_ that happened, but she wasn't sure how Sora would take that.

"Whatever has happened to him, and he won't tell me all of it, still haunts him."

"What do we do?"

"Not much we can do. Riku will get over stuff in his own time. No one has ever gotten Riku to do anything he didn't want to do." Sora said, grinning broadly.

"That's true." Kairi admitted, smiling back. Sora could put her at ease so easily. One grin from him and for a moment, all her worries faded into the background.

"Hey, let's go for a walk. After Mrs. Hutchin's geography lesson, I need to stretch my legs!" Sora hopped up and extended his hand to Kairi, an inviting smile on his face. Kairi accepted his hand, allowing herself to be helped up.

They walked along the shore, talking about this or that, or just talking about nothing. Life, for the time being, was simple, and he never wanted to let go of her hand.

That's how the rest of the day went; just spending time with one another as if nothing was wrong. The sun was slowly sinking below the horizon, casting a red-gold light over their world. Something glinted in the evening sun, washed up on the shore. Sora bent and picked it up examining it and feeling his heart sink low in his chest.

It was a bottled message.

A message stamped with the King's seal.

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Finally, it was closing time. It was too long in coming, and he was more than ready to get out of there. He was probably in desperate need of a mirror; he definitely had a bad case of hat/hairnet hair.

"Riku!" His head snapped up from the table he had been cleaning to meet the eyes of his boss. "Finish that and come talk to me."

"Yes, sir." Riku grimaced mentally. _Shit. Now what did I do?_ He finished the tables, taking his time, postponing whatever was waiting for him, and walked into his boss's office, nervous as hell.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" He asked.

His boss sighed. "Riku, there have been some customer complaints regarding you. You are making customers nervous." He reached into a drawer, pulling out an envelope with Riku's name on it. His boss handed Riku the envelope, "Here, it's your paycheck."

"But I'm not supposed to be paid for another--."

"Riku," he interrupted, "you're fired. You're costing me business."

"But—."

"Return your uniform and get out of my office." Without looking at Riku, he gave a dismissive gesture and without another word, returned to his paperwork.

Riku slumped against a wall, allowing himself to sink to the ground. Now what was he going to do? He couldn't go home, had no job, and very, very little money. The wind picked up, whipping his hair wildly about him. The street lamp illuminated him, beset by this state of affairs. He sat with his arms wrapped tightly around his legs and his rested on his knees with fatigue. It barely registered when a shadow blocked his light. Sighing, he lifted his head to meet the eyes of a grinning Sora.

"Sora?" The Keyblade Master held up a bottle, complete with a message stamped by the King.

"You look like you could use a vacation."


	2. Leaving  Again

A/N: Hello, I wrote most of this chapter today. But I wanted to post before I went to Anime Banzai tomorrow. It's a convention. I'm so excited. Either way, I worked hard and fast to get this chapter up, so love me. And please review. It makes me happier to write. And, if it generally takes me a while to update, I'm writing three fics at once. They will come as they come. So be patient, please. Anyway, on with it!

Chapter 2: Leaving. Again.

The message from King Mickey had clearly stated that there was a matter he was concerned about, which he thought Sora should see. A gummi ship would arrive to pick him up at a specific date and time, and he would return when the matter was resolved. It was also mentioned that Kairi and Riku could accompany him if he wanted. That thoroughly explained why Riku was on a bed in Disney Castle, lying on his back looking for pictures in the textured ceiling.

Sora was getting reacquainted with Donald and Goofy, and Kairi… was still on Destiny Islands. Completely against her own will.

Kairi had wanted to come.

"No, Kairi, you're staying here." Sora said for what felt like the thousandth time, "You are not coming and that's final." They had been packing at the time, and Sora was (tactfully) unpacking whatever Kairi put in her bag.

"Why not?" She asked, adamantly stuffing a bra into her bag. Sora almost reached to unpack it, but thought better of it. Because I'd get in your way? Because I can't fight as well? Because I'm a girl? Just because—."

"Kairi!" Sora snapped, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her roughly, "You are staying here! You are staying where I don't need to worry about you!" He broke away abruptly, snatching his bag and running out the door, slamming it behind him.

It had only been for a moment, but in that brief moment she was certain she had seen fear in his eyes.

That conversation had not gone well.

Sora rowed furiously to the island. Why did their adventures all seem to start there? The door was there, the gummi ship was going to pick them up there, and… it was where they had built their raft.

He was enraged at himself for how he and Kairi had parted ways. Whatever King Mickey thought was going on might be a false alarm. But… what if it wasn't? What if it was something somehow worse than anything they had ever faced before? What if… he didn't come back? Sora's heart twisted painfully in his chest. To leave Kairi like that, on such unfriendly terms…

His boat bumped against the dock, yanking him from his melancholy meanderings. Sora tied off his boat, took what might be his last look at his island home, and prayed to whatever deity was listening that he would live to see it again. Sighing, he turned and walked to where Riku was waiting. For a moment, as he approached his friend, time seemed to stop. Riku was leaning against the Paopu tree, its trunk all wonky and bent funny, a contemplative expression on his face, just like Sora had seen him do countless times. Sure, his hair had been shorter, he had been younger, and his face had still held the innocence that had been so cruelly ripped from him, but it was still Riku. That wouldn't change, at least.

Riku finally noticed his approach and turned to meet him. "Where's Kairi? I thought she would have come if she had to chain her arm to yours."

"She's not coming." Riku didn't miss the guilty look that spread over Sora's face. His shoulders slumped in defeat; the same way he had looked whenever he had done something he considered wrong. Whether he had stolen cookies, told a little lie, or forgotten to clean his room, he subconsciously adopted that pose. He had to be the worst liar Riku had ever met. Riku sighed.

"What did you do?" He asked, placing a hand on Sora's shoulder.

"I yelled at her! I shook her, Riku! I'm so stupid! She's gonna hate me. I just want her to stay where it's safe. What if I don't come back and that's the last memory she has of me? Riku—."

"Sora, calm down." Riku put both hands on Sora's shoulders and met his eyes for the first time in months. "Kairi won't hat you. If you think she's that fickle you don't know her like you should. You will come back. You're not that easy to kill. I should know. I've tried." He smiled grimly.

"Riku—."

"I'm not done. Whatever comes, whatever this turns in to, Kairi's heart is always with you. Know that."

"Riku?"

"Hm?"

"I think that's that most you've said to me in over six months." Sora laughed.

"Probably."

A low rumbling sound began and slowly became louder, seeming to fill every void and overbear every sound, preceding the appearance of the actual gummi ship. Both young men stood and watched ship descend. One stood determined, the other hesitant. The landing gear extended as the ship settled on the sandy ground. The rumbling quieted and ceased as the engines cooled down and turned off. The doors opened with a hydraulic hiss and a ramp extended with a note, stamped with the King's seal, stuck to the end. Riku tugged it off and read it aloud.

"'Sora, I have sent this ship on auto-pilot, hurry and board, it is programmed to leave at a specific time. Have a safe trip.' Alright then." Riku picked up his bag off the ground and turned to friend, eyes excited and lit with anticipation. "Let's go." And began to walk up the ramp.

"Yeah." Sora readjusted his bag on his shoulder and stepped onto the ramp.

"Sora!" Sora spun to see who had called him, recognizing the voice and praying he was right. Riku turned, about to enter the gummi ship, and allowed himself a slight smile for the sight. There was Kairi, dressed only in a tank top and pajama shorts, running full tilt toward Sora.

Kairi ran barefoot across the plank bridge to where Sora stood, shocked, and kissed him as hard as she could. After getting over the shock of a) seeing Kairi in the first place and b) her running up and kissing him on the mouth, Sora's eyes slid shut; his arms wound around her waist, held her tightly to him, and kissed her back with all the chaos of his emotions behind it.

Riku suddenly felt lightly embarrassed. Watching something so obviously private. They had never kissed prior to this, he knew that, and the kiss had a sad sense of finality to it, a goodbye to someone you knew you might never see again.

The two broke apart but didn't let go of the other. Kairi took Sora's face firmly between her hands and looked him in the eye, determined to say what she came to say.

"Sora, you better come back. If you die, you better say so, because I refuse to be left hanging." She leaned forward and kissed him gently, "Besides there's more where that came from when you get home. Soon, okay?"

"Is that a promise?" Sora asked. A fiendish smile spread across his face.

"You bet." She smiled sadly, "Bye, Sora." Kairi detangled herself from Sora's arms and stood back, knowing Sora would not let go first. The rumble started up again and the engines began to warm.

"Sora, we gotta go!" Riku yelled over the din.

"Bye, Kairi. I'll be back. I promise!" Sora swore. Behind him the gummi ship had begun to lift off, threatening to leave him behind. Sora sprinted to the ship and leapt for it. Riku caught his outstretched hands and hauled him inside. The doors hissed shut and they were gone.

Kairi waved at the place she had last seen them. She was still angry at Sora for leaving her behind, but resolved to wait for him to return. Riku, she knew, wouldn't want to be waited for, as he had little reason to return. It made her a bit sad to think about, but she hoped Riku could find a place he belonged.

Even if it wasn't here.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ride to Disney Castle was uneventful, Riku slept for most of the way and Sora stared out the window, transfixed by the starry expanse surrounding them. Riku's dreams seemed calm to Sora, as Riku was still, but Riku's dreams continued to plague his sleep regardless of appearance.

The dream was nothing more than a replayed memory. The memory, however, was one he sincerely yearned to erase.

He remembered being consumed by confusion and humiliation. Why? Why did that Nobody have a Keyblade? Sora and Mickey were the only people who had one. It didn't make sense. He had been beaten. Badly. That Nobody, Roxas, was stronger than him. His fist beat against the ground in anger.

Damn it! That Nobody was needed to wake up Sora, or so DiZ said, and he figured he would know more about the subject. Sora needed Roxas, and after all he had done to Sora, he couldn't even accomplish this one thing to help him when he needed it so much. Damn it.

Souleater lay on the ground a ways from him, and the thought struck his mind. It was the only real power he had, and it could give him the strength to defeat Roxas. He stared at the sword, its unusual batwing-like shape. The thought scared him. What if he wasn't able to return to his true self? He shook his head. Sora was far more important. He forced himself to breathe calmly and closed his eyes, despite the blindfold he wore. He found that place within him, his center, his heart, and opened it to the darkness.

The darkness, familiar and cold, flooded into his vulnerable heart. The power filled him and for a moment, all was still but the rain.

Riku's scream rent the silence as pain ripped through him. His heart constricted agonizingly in his chest, and the darkness spread like venom through his system. The pain subsided to a dull ache; his entire body was cold and his breath came in ragged gasps that tore at his throat. He stayed there, on hands and knees, in the rain for a moment, trying to persuade his erratic heartbeat to steady and his breathing to calm.

Satisfied with his state of being, Riku stood slowly keeping one hand on the wall to steady him and began to walk. He had had not gone three steps when the ache flared into an agonizing fire searing through his very bones. He collapsed into a shuddering, twitching heap. His scream had died in his throat. He had no air. He couldn't breathe. Bones ground against each other, stretching, lengthening. His spine twisted and changed. All at once. Every bone felt shattered, every inch of skin felt charred, his scalp itched unto madness. Each touch was agony. The brush of cloth against his skin. A single drop of rain. The pressure of his own weight against the pavement. His muscles spasmed and convulsed into convoluted knots. Beneath the blindfold his eyes were wide with shock and pain; his mouth gaped in a silent scream.

The reached an unbearable pitch, his back arched off the ground and his world went blissfully dark.

For an instant he wondered if he was dead. He vaguely remembered being in a hell of a lot of pain and shifted experimentally. Every muscle screeched in protest. No, not dead then. He hurt too much to be dead.

Riku cautiously opened his eyes, shocked to find them unobscured by the black cloth he usually wore. The hell… Something was wrong. He moved to brush his bangs from his eyes only to discover he had none. He felt strange. His body seemed far too large to be his. Riku stood, carefully balanced on unsteady legs. Everything looked smaller, if not shorter. He bumped a corner as he turned his shoulders broader than he remembered. Odd. He slowly made his way over to a window suddenly afraid to see his reflection.

He arrived at the window and found himself eye to eye with Ansem. He stepped back in shocked fear, so did Ansem. He stepped close to the glass resting his right palm on its surface, Ansem mirrored the action. Realization hit him and Ansem's eyes widened in sickened horror.

He was staring at his reflection.

Riku awoke with a start. He looked about frantically for a second, checking his hands and body ensuring they were his. It was only a dream. He laughed in his head; only a dream. One of the many nightmares fully intent upon forcing him to relive the most shameful and horrific experiences of his life. He forced himself to relax a little.

Of all the terrible nightmares he had, that one was the worst. It was by far the most vivid, and nothing could lessen the absolute encompassing horror of looking at your reflection and discovering the face of your worst enemy, nightmare, and mistake staring back at you. Realizing that no matter how far or fast you ran, it would never truly leave you in peace.

Riku ventured a look at Sora. The Keyblade Master was snoring lightly. Sprawled over his seat, soundly asleep. Lucky. Sora muttered something in his sleep that sounded suspiciously like 'jellyfish'. Riku had long since learned not to ask what went on in Sora's dreams. They rarely (if ever) made any sense. Riku chuckled, amused in spite of himself.

Redirecting his focus out the window, he spotted Disney Castle growing larger in the distance. Standing up, he wandered over to his comatose friend and shook him.

"Sora." Sora merely snorted and rolled over. Riku sighed. "Hey, Sora. Sora!" The Keyblade Master stayed stubbornly asleep. With a devious smirk in place, Riku positioned his lips about an inch from Sora's ear. "SORA!" He bellowed. Sora startled violently awake, forcefully smacking Riku in the head in the process.

"Huh?" Sora said, sitting upright.

"Ow." The Keyblade master looked to find Riku sprawled on the floor, rubbing the side of his head.

"What happened to you?"

"You—never mind." He wouldn't remember doing it. There was no point. Pushing himself off the floor, he gestured out the window, "We're almost there."

Sora looked almost saddened, but smiled anyway, the effect even sadder than a somber expression. "I honestly hoped that the next time I saw this place I'd be visiting to say hi to Donald, Goofy, King Mickey and everybody. I never wanted to come back as the Keyblade Master. Man," he sighed, looking far older than any seventeen-year-old should, "I wish I could just… retire or something." He looked regretfully at his sword hand. "Well, here we go again."

"We'll get you back soon, Sora." Riku put a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder. "Let's just hope this is something relatively minor."

"Yeah," Sora's mouth set into a determined line, "right."

The docking went smoothly and within moments the two of them were disembarking to quite the welcoming party.

Riku was sure that practically everyone who lived in the Castle was present, excepting the animated mops, of course. Mickey and Minnie were in front, Donald and Goofy flanking his Majesty and Daisy standing to the side of her mistress. Chip and Dale had situated themselves atop Goofy's hat, while Jiminy sat comfortably of Donald's shoulder. Donald and Goofy immediately raced forward and embraced Sora, overjoyed to see him. Riku smiled and stood back to let the trio catch up.

Mickey strode to stand in front of him, "Hello, Riku. It's been awhile. How ya doing?"

"Surviving." Riku replied lightheartedly. "Though I wish it was for a different reason; to be honest, I'm glad for the change of pace. I thought I would go insane." He smiled, surprised at how easily and honestly the smile came. The King smiled back.

"Life's never easy. No matter what you do. Sora?" Hearing his name he lifted his head to listen. "Why don't I show you and Riku to your rooms. Which reminds me, where's Kairi?" The King looked a little concerned and expectant. Riku caught the shadow that crossed Sora's face.

"She—she's staying home." He managed.

"I see." Mickey said, nodding with understanding. "Right this way!" He picked up cheerily, leading the way to their respective accommodations.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sora was spending time with Donald and Goofy, and Riku was passively searching for a way to occupy himself, hence, he began searching for pictures in the textured ceiling of his room.

A soft knock sounded at the door, and Riku got up, shaking out his hair, to answer it. It was one of the mop servants with a note.

'The briefing on the problem for which you have been summoned will begin shortly. Please follow the mop. It knows where it is.'

Riku cocked an eyebrow at the mop, "So, you're supposed to be my guide?" He asked. The mop bowed low and began to walk away. Riku followed, shutting the door behind him.

He had never actually been inside Disney Castle before, he hadn't had the opportunity. The walls were a clean pristine white that had a slight sparkle to them when the light hit just right. It was clean without feeling sterile. The other castles he had been in had either not been clean, such as Hollow Bastion, or been clean to the extent of sterility, such as any Nobody castle he had ever set foot in. Unlike the others, this was warm and welcoming.

The mop stopped in front of a set of double doors and bowed him inside. He was the last to arrive.

"Ah, Riku, have a seat and we'll get started." Riku took a seat at the ovular table that dominated the room. Sora and company were seated across from him. "You must be wondering why I've called you here." Mickey began, gazing seriously at those present. "It's a little difficult to explain, so I'll just show you. Lights, please."

The lights dimmed and the table began to glow, illuminating a three-dimensional display grid. "Here at the Castle, we try to keep track of the general well being of the known worlds." His Majesty briefly navigated through the index of worlds to illustrate his point. He brought a specific world up on the 3-D display. "This was the state of this particular world about a month ago. As you can see, there is nothing wrong. All is well." Riku listened, tempted to ask why they were looking at a world there was nothing wrong with, but guessed there would be a point soon enough. "However, about two days before we contacted you, we discovered the world now looked like this." The display changed, showing the world one month later. Instead of the surface being colorful and lively as it had been previously, it was dull and grayed. Mickey changed the view, showing the people of this world.

They were dead.

They littered the streets, homes, schools, everywhere. Their bodies just lay there as though asleep. "It's like this all over this world. There are no signs of violence or pain. They are simply dead." Mickey changed the image again, "This is today's observance of this world." The world was still dull and gray, but is edges seemed… hazy. His majesty zoomed in on its people.

"They're…" Sora trailed off.

"Disintegrating." Riku finished in a state of shock. It was true. In a matter of days the world, its people, and everything on it, had begun to crumble. The skin on the corpses had since turned to dust, leaving skeletons in their place like some sort of macabre doll house.

"How serious has this gotten?" Sora asked, pushing his shock aside and getting down to business.

"I'm not sure. We haven't run a full diagnostic today." Mickey turned to a microphone set into the table, "Computer, run diagnostic. Search for similar anomalies. Highlight positive results in red."

The diagnostic and search took a while for the sheer number of worlds they had found, but sure enough the list of results began to populate. The first result was in black, indicating a state of well being, but more results followed.

There was far, far too much red.


	3. Escape

AN: Sorry it's taken me so long to update. I have three fanfics in the works, and it's slightly overwhelming balancing work, art projects and fanfiction. I will always update unless otherwise stated. Bear with me. It just takes me awhile.

ps. I recently changed notebooks and accidentally wrote more than I had intended. The next chapter is written and typed. I'll probably post it in two weeks.

**Chapter 3: Escape**

So much red…

It surprised Riku a little that he wasn't more disturbed by these events. He felt the desire to do something, but he lacked the horror and consuming anger that were so apparent on Sora's face. He sighed mentally, hating the near complete apathy numbing his emotions to extinction.

His eyes raked the list of worlds, the names highlighted red, black, and, to his confusion, white… Most of the extensive list was still black, far too much of it was that awful red, but over a third of the list was white.

"Your Majesty," he began, "what about the names in white?" Sora looked at him in mild shock, he had been so caught up in the amount of red displayed that the white had gone zooming over his head and into the horizon.

"Oh, as to that," King Mickey cleared his throat, "We have programmed the computer to display all results that do not fall into any of the specified requirements to be displayed in white. I am sorry; I forgot to mention this before." The royal mouse smiled apologetically. "In this case it refers to those worlds which, while not dead, are not right or well."

"But they can be saved, right?" Sora stood abruptly from his chair, knocking it to the floor in the rush. Hopeful eagerness dominated his honest features. An open book to any who wished to read. He never had been a very good at lying. Not that the situation required it, but either way. The king sighed.

"If there's a way, I don't know what it is." Mickey visibly wilted, "We have no idea why this is happening. Until we do, we have no way to stop it." The sorrow apparent in the King's eyes gave them a hollow look, Riku noticed for the first time how tired the king appeared, weary in body and spirit. "Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, as much as I regret disturbing your lives again, your mission is this: discover why the worlds are dying and stop it if you can."

"And if we can't? A'hyuck." Goofy asked.

Mickey sighed again, "Then we wait. Either the death will eventually cease, or we will fall prey to it as well." Mickey went around the table, meeting the eyes of the four people seated there. "May you succeed."

"When do we leave?" Sora asked, still standing, he appeared calm and resolved, ready to step forward once again as the sole protector of worlds, the Keyblade Master. Sora.

"Tomorrow morning."

How many times would he lie awake staring at the ceiling? The clock nearby struck two in the morning. Riku sighed heavily to himself, his thoughts conflicted. Despite the uncertain length of this mission his mind kept skipping around to when it would undeniably end. What would his life be? No job, no education beyond high school, no wife or even a girlfriend, in short, no future.

He could run.

But could he stand to run from his friends again? Leave without a word, and never look back? He could hijack a gummi ship. Riku had learned to pilot one a long while back. Take what little he had packed with him and be gone before anyone was awake. Sora would do his job, with Riku helping from the shadows. Shadows… interesting choice of words. He would do all he could without making himself known. And when it was over, Sora would return to Destiny Islands, to Kairi, and live his life without his worrisome influence. And Riku… Riku would be a vagabond, wandering as he would until he finally found where he wanted to be.

That did it.

Riku jumped out of bed and looked at the night sky through his window. The stars were visible, they were beautiful. He would be among them before dawn. He turned away from them and went to gather what he had brought with him.

It was the first thing he saw when he opened his back pack, he had thrown it in there without truly knowing why as he was racing to get out of his house as quickly as possible. A long black hooded cloak. The attire he had adopted for almost a year. Granted, there had been a black pair of pants and a knee height pair of boots that had gone with it, but those he had gotten rid of. The cloak was all that he had held on to.

He pulled it form the bag, holding it up to its full length. He had grown some since he had worn it last, but the cloak seemed as if it had grown with him. Impossible. Clothes don't grow with their owners. But, much to his confusion, when he tried it on, found it fell to the exact same length as before and fit in much the same way. Odd. Very, very odd.

It seemed fitting to be wearing it as he escaped. His pack on his back, he sneaked down to the hangar. Riku passed Sora's room on his way; he stopped in front of it and pressed his ear to the door. It was reassuring to hear Sora's loud snoring from the other side of the door. It was likely to be the last he'd hear of him. His heart contracted a bit in his chest. Sora would be better off without him. Riku pulled away from the door and stood staring at it for a moment.

"Goodbye, Sora."

There were a surprising number of people awake at this time of night. Riku skirted them, quietly stealing down the hallways and finally the gummi ship hangar.

Held within was a wide variety of models, big, small, some with mounted guns, some with enough firepower to blow up a world he was sure, and some that looked down right ridiculous.

Riku chose a smaller ship, built for speed and equipped with a cloaking device. It had decent firepower but nothing terribly explosive. Definitely something he could get away with stealing. With a few keystrokes to the hangar's computer, he brought it to the dock ready to be boarded. Riku went to stand in front of the ship, hesitating a moment. This was it. He was leaving. He would never return to that claustrophobic island. He was free.

"Going somewhere, Riku?" The King's voice sounded from behind him.

Riku whipped about to find Mickey standing there. The mouse's arms were folded and the look on his face resembled the expectant look of a parent waiting for a child to confess he's been caught.

"I'm not trying to escape the mission." Riku said evenly. What if the King tried to stop him?

"I know. What are you doing?"

Riku sighed and broke eye contact. "I'm leaving." He stared at the wall.

"Well, yes, but why?" Mickey sounded a little impatient. "Why not wait until the morning to leave with Sora?" Riku's eyes moved to the floor.

"That's just it. Sora will complete this mission and return to Destiny Islands. King Mickey… I… I don't belong there anymore. I feel trapped. I'm leaving so I don't have to see how badly this hurts him. I'm not going back to Destiny Islands. I want to wander until I find somewhere I belong." Riku closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable admonishment.

"Fine."

Riku's eyes snapped open to meet Mickey's. "What?" The King was smiling kindly at him.

"Just what I said. Fine, you may go. I'm not going to stop you. You've been having problems going to and _staying_ on Destiny Islands since this began. King Mickey laughed, taking the edge off the criticism. "I have one favor to ask, though."

"Sure, what?"

"Let me accompany you."

"Huh?" Caught completely off guard by that statement, Riku took a step backward and nearly fell over in shock.

"Take me with you. I have a couple reasons. One, this will have you, Sora, Goofy, and Donald off to handle this and I feel I need to see this myself. Two, I admit, I miss roaming and want to get a little more in my life before staying here permanently." He looked purely embarrassed and very disgruntled. Mickey shuffled a bit under Riku's disbelieving scrutiny. After letting this news sink in—Riku had never much figured King Mickey for wanderlust—he snapped back into reality.

"Come on, then." Riku smiled deviantly, "Let's get out of here, from one vagabond to another." He extended his hand to the mouse. King Mickey smiled broadly and took the offered appendage. They shook on it.

Riku managed to admit to himself that he was glad for company. Speaking from more experience than he would have liked, being alone for long periods of time was taxing, tiring, and, of course, lonely. Having a companion, however unexpected, was heartening. It was making this venture more like a journey and less like a self-inflicted life sentence of exile.

"You ready to go, Mickey?" Riku asked.

"Almost. I just need to grab one thing."

"I'll wait. Hurry." His majesty scampered off to retrieve whatever it was he required. Riku boarded the ship wanting to put his pack on board and explore a little. He found three bunks and claimed the top as his own, putting his pack up to rest upon it.

Leaving so suddenly left him feeling guilty. Not a word of warning, of explanation. Hoping to assuage his conscience he sat down, after finding pen and paper, to write a note. He sat staring at the blank sheet for quite a while, trying to find the right words, secretly wishing Mickey would come back and interrupt him. In the end, he put pen to paper and wrote this:

_Sora,_

_I'm sorry. I can't stay. I will help in any way I can, but when all this is over I'm not returning to Destiny Islands. Kairi knows. I didn't tell her, but she knows. I don't know how she does that. Maybe it's a girl thing?_

_Thanks for everything. And I'm sorry for everything. I'm still your friend, Sora. But I need to find a place I fit._

_Wish me luck, I'll need it._

_Riku_

_p.s. FYI, your wooden sword, bouncy ball, yo-yo, shoes, and anything else that has mysteriously gone missing over the years, I stole some of it. Hid the rest. It's behind the white rock in the secret place. I've hid some stuff back there that you can have. And that video game back there is yours._

Satisfied with its contents to some degree, he folded it in half, and exited the ship. Riku had barely exited when Mickey scampered back through the door and down the stairs, a small pack on his back.

"Ready?" Mickey asked.

"Almost." Riku answered. He knelt quietly and laid the folded sheet of paper on the dock before him with reverence as though the piece of paper was delicate and sacred. His fingertips trailed along its folded edge as he pulled his hand away from the note, the last evidence of himself he was going to leave behind in the lives of Sora and Kairi and other life long friends. He sighed and stood to face Mickey.

"Let's go.

Sora woke with a start. He had been dreaming then. There was no way he would ever get caught trying to save the world without the absolutely necessary addition of pants. And underwear. And a shirt. Well, maybe not the shirt. He had saved the world without a shirt before. And without pants, come to think of it. He had been a merman at the time, though. Maybe that didn't count.

What time was it? It took him a few moments to locate the clock in the unfamiliar room. Oh, there it was. 7:30 a.m. Who put the time on the ceiling? Okay. Not bad. He was hoping to sleep a little longer, but seeing as he was already awake, why not just get up? Maybe Riku was up. Unlikely at this hour, but, who knew?

Resolved to wakefulness, Sora pulled himself from bed and began to dress. He noticed that as time had passed, the number of buckles, pockets, pouches, belts, earrings, bangles, bandanas, rings and other accessories, had vastly increased. To the point of looking like some kind of wayward gypsy on occasion. At least he didn't jingle, he noted.

Before long he was walking down the pristine hallway to where Riku's room was located. The sun was coming up, streaming light through the windows to illuminate the halls in shining splendor. Everything was tinted a light rosy pink in the dawn. Sora stopped to look at the landscape outside the window.

Beautiful. As the sun rose ever higher in the enveloping dawn the shadows fled and hid, leaving the bright glory of the land to be observed by admiring eyes.

Riku. Right, he was going to go get Riku. They were leaving this morning and he had to make sure his friend woke up in plenty of time for breakfast. Sora had long since justified waking up his friend this early as friendly concern.

Sora stopped outside Riku's door and paused. It had been left ajar. Riku, he knew from many years of friendship and sleepovers, was very picky about having doors remain completely closed while he occupied a room. Odd. He pushed the door the rest of the way open. Riku wasn't there. The bedcovers were turned down and rumpled. His things were everywhere. And one of his bags was missing. He had brought two. One was larger and meant for most of his belongings, the other, the one missing, was smaller, meant for travel. A back pack really. And it was gone. Along with a few of the more necessary items Riku had packed. Why?

He wouldn't have…

Sora took off at a dead run. He sprinted toward the gummi ship hangar, passing and dodging many of the castle's occupants, including Donald and Goofy.

"Sora?" Donald started, but was completely ignored in Sora's desperate race to get to the hangar. Curious as to what their friend was running after, they followed him.

Sora burst through the hangar doors, dashed down the stairs, nearly slipping in his haste and came to an abrupt halt at the platform.

A gummi ship was gone.

He slowly strode forward in complete disbelief. He wouldn't have…

A crinkling sound came from where he had just stepped. He looked down to find a folded sheet of paper. Sora picked it up, unfolded it and read its contents.

"No…" The Keyblade Master whispered.

Riku was gone.

* * *

Thank you so much for reading and being patient. I hope you enjoyed it. If you have questions, about the story, me, whatever, include them in the review. As for your plot related questions, many of them will most likely be answered in the chapters to come!

Ja ne!


	4. Landing Sort of

Screw it. I'm posting it now. Would you all review please? I love it when people review. It makes me actually want to write something...

**Chapter 4: Landing. Sort of.**

The ride thus far had been peaceful. Riku, not having had much sleep the night before, took the opportunity to go back to sleep, leaving Mickey in charge of piloting.

They had left in silence and secrecy, getting as far away as they could, as quickly as they could without leaving a trail. As it was, it would be very difficult for someone to track them. He slept remarkably peacefully, considering the nightmares that plagued his subconscious generally at night. Warm, comfortable, and safe, a combination he hadn't experienced in a long time. Even after his return to the island. Warm and comfortable meant his dad's house, which was far from safe. Safe meant the secret place, which was about as far from comfortable as you could get without the assistance of a torture chamber. He was free. Riku could sleep easily at last.

Morning had always come much too early for her liking, but there was just too much to do in a day to sleep in. Her hand groped for the alarm clock in hopes of making it be silent. Unable to find the clock without the ability of sight, a head of mussed red and brown hair unearthed itself from the mass of blankets, a pair of eyes squinted blindly for the clock, its incessant beeping became too annoying to tolerate. The hand roughly shoved a pair of glasses into place bringing her world into abrupt focus.

Oh, of course.

She had moved it out of reach. She had made a habit of hitting the snooze button, rolling over and going back to sleep, so to break the aforementioned habit she had moved it so it was required to get out of bed to shut it off.

Her glare would have frightened any creature, but as the alarm clock was not alive in any way shape or form it had no effect. She contemplated which she required more, sleep or sanity. A surprisingly difficult decision. Sighing, she dragged herself out of bed. Her nightshirt fell down to her ankles from wherever it had managed to hike itself up to during the night. The floor was cold on her bare feet. She gently turned off the alarm and placed it in front of a window where the solar battery could charge. Much like herself, the alarm clock did not belong on this world. Such technology did not exist on this medieval world. She was stuck here though. She had no way to leave.

It was beautiful, however. Green hills ran off to the east, and to the west a thick forest grew. The trees were ancient and strong. A river flowed just within its reaches. Two streams fed it, one, from the northern mountains, was always cold and clear; the other was fed by a hot spring and was warm and comfortable to bathe in. Peaceful.

To the south, however, was a village. It's people were suspicious of outsiders and were cold to her. They had allowed her to live in an old abandoned house well away from them. They had made sure it was livable, but had done her no other favors. She supposed they feared if they left her to die she would curse them with her dying breath. Or something along those lines at least.

She stared at herself in her bathroom mirror. "Well, Meian, another day has come." She pulled a brush through her thick, unruly hair, and tied back into a half ponytail, two strands, too short to be kept in the tail, slipped free to frame her face. Her hair had once been brown, but shortly after arriving here a little over three years ago, her hair had started growing in blood red. It had disturbed her, but she became accustomed to seeing the bottom ten inches or so brown, the rest bright crimson.

Once dressed, Meian ventured out into the morning to fetch water. Definitely something she missed. Hot and cold running water. The morning breeze ran its fingers through her hair and caressed her face. The sun was bright and the sky was clear. Just an ordinary day.

"Riku, wake up!" The King's voice tore him from sleep.

"Huh?" He looked up blearily pushing hair from his eyes. "What's goin' on?" He asked.

"We're being attacked."

Riku launched himself from the bed, instantly awake. Mickey raced in front of him to the cockpit.

"You shoot, I'll drive." Mickey leapt into the pilot's seat, flipping switches and grabbed the controls.

Riku didn't hesitate. Without missing a beat he was seated in front of the weapons console, buckled himself in and brought the ship's minimal firepower online. _I should have picked a stronger ship._ He thought desperately. Heartless and Nobody ships were attacking them from all sides. _Shit._ Riku activated the cloaking device and brought up the shields. This was not good. They had basic lasers and about thirty missiles. He would have to be right on target. _We are so screwed. Even if I don't miss we're still screwed._ He aimed carefully, taking out the smaller ships with the laser, they went down easily, but with so many, even cloaked and shielded they would be worn down eventually.

Something hit them. Hard. The power surged and sparks flew from the circuits. If he hadn't been belted into his seat he would have been sent flying into the console. He checked the displays. "Shields at 75. No significant damage." He reported.

"Let's keep it that way."

The ship that had hit them came into view. It was far larger than them and very obviously better equipped. What was worse, there were two. One Heartless. One Nobody. Not good. They fired.

Mickey began evasive actions. Riku continued to aim and shoot despite his aim being moved about so much. The missiles followed them. "Mickey! We've got heat-seekers." That's how they'd been hit. Heat-seekers. The missiles were gaining.

"Riku, intercept them!"

He fired, trying to hit the missiles before they were hit. Riku managed to take out one. The other connected. The jolt jerked Riku hard enough to know he'd have bruises from his seatbelt. "Shields at 43. Cloaking's gone."

Riku switched entirely to missiles. Lasers wouldn't do jack right now. Panic started to build. His shots were hitting but were entirely ineffective. The smaller ships could see them now and were wearing down their shields.

_I've only got five shots left._ "Shields at 15. We're losing power. We've got to get out of here!"

"Do what you can. I'm trying to find a place to land." Good. Heartless and Nobody ships couldn't enter an atmosphere. Another hit shook the ship.

"We've lost shields." He could hear the fear in his voice. They were going to die. He could think of no way they could get out of here alive. Red lights and warnings turned on everywhere. The smaller ships were taking out everything. Dread flowed through him. "Mickey…"

"Just five more minutes. Five more minutes and we'll be able to land." The King's voice was tense and strained.

Five minutes… five minutes between living and dying. Riku had to hold them off for five minutes. Fear had soaked his clothes and hair in a cold sweat that trickled down his spine.

His main concern was the larger ships' cannons. Those missiles did a devastating amount of damage. One hit and they would be nothing more than debris. They fired, he took aim carefully. Patiently targeting the incoming missiles. He could not afford to miss. He didn't. Regardless of the interceptions he could only postpone the inevitable. They were running out of ammunition. They couldn't last much longer.

"That's it." Riku said voice flat, resigned, "All we have left are the lasers." It had only been about three minutes. They were screwed.

"We're almost there."

Riku turned about in his seat. They were approaching a world at a dangerously high speed. Mickey was pushing the ship to its absolute limits. One look at the gauges told him the engine temperature was far too high. Navigation was limited, and the landing gear had been downed. Their only option was a crash landing at a high velocity. Survival chances weren't much. But they were better than out there. He'd take it. Riku's general chances of survival had always been notoriously low anyway.

Riku turned back and shot whatever he could blow up. Trying to give them enough time to, at the very least, get into the atmosphere.

The mammoth ships were aiming at them once again. No shields. No missiles left. Defenseless. Not on his life. Fingers flying over the controls, he changed the laser configuration. He opted to fire the entirety of the laser's available energy into one last shot. The heartless ship was the only one preparing to fire. He had one chance.

The incoming missile was locked in his sights. There were a myriad of alarms and warnings going off, a cacophony of sound that would have been agonizing had he been listening. An engine fire had started from the stress being put upon it. Their O2 tanks had been hit and were leaking. Riku couldn't see or hear any of it. His entire focus was centered. Time seemed to slow down. His finger pulled the trigger and a colossal burst of energy streamed forth to meet the missile, and hit it dead on.

But it didn't stop. Their last effort had failed to stop the incoming attack. It had only succeeded in slowing it down.

"I'm sorry, Mickey," was all he got out before their ship was struck.

The shock was terrible. Riku's head was whipped and collided forcefully against the dashboard. He would have been grateful if the collision had rendered him senseless, but as it was he was conscious. Couldn't see straight and wasn't sure which way was up, but still headacheingly conscious.

"M-mic—." His words were cut off by an agony that pierced his chest. He had no breath to scream or cry out and he could taste the blood in his mouth. The ship's fierce shuddering had begun to shake the ceiling panels loose, one falling sharply on Riku's head, rendering his world blissfully black.

The sun was setting and casting a red-gold light on the surrounding landscape. Putting down the book she had been reading in the failing light, she opted to go and sit on the roof, wrapping a shawl about her as she went out the door.

Meian climbed up the trellis and hefted herself up onto the roof. It was her place. Nothing fancy, just a place where she could just be. Not to mention, it was an excellent place to watch the sunset and then the stars. And for some reason, the villagers never thought to look for her up there.

She allowed herself to sigh. Meian's heart ached for company. She hadn't been completely alone today, it was true, but the villagers were always icy. What she wished for was companionship. Someone to share her days with. Maybe someone to sit upon the roof with her and watch the stars. Loneliness made the days pass by slowly. Almost unbearably so.

The stars seemed unusually bright. Meian brushed it off and accredited it to the New Moon. A shooting star blazed into view. Ignoring the part of her that deemed in ridiculous and infantile, she made a wish.

"I wish I had someone to keep me company." She muttered beneath her breath. The star blazed brighter but instead of fading back into darkness started growing larger and coming closer. Her eyes widened, a shape was becoming more and more distinct beneath the flames of its atmospheric entry. _What was it?_ Meian stared intently at the approaching object, attempting to discern the shape. Recognition sparked in her memory. A gummi ship. Concern creased her brow. Something was wrong. At its current velocity it wouldn't be able to slow down enough for a safe landing. It was going to…

The impact shook the ground and rent the air with a deafening crash. A cloud of smoke ascended from the site. It would only take her a minute to get there, but the villagers would definitely hear and, given ten minutes, come running.

"Oh, no." Meian climbed/leapt from the roof and hit the ground running. The grass was cold and damp against her bare feet, soaking her skirt hem as she sprinted toward the smoke. Someone could be hurt or worse…

She ascended the hill, her calves burning, slipping on the wet grass. Meian hit the ground and skid, scraping her shins. She picked herself up and continued to run, heedless of the burning and stinging of her legs. Her breath sounded loudly in her ears.

Meian crested the hill and gasped in shock. A mangled gummi ship sat smoking in a crater; a small fire had started in the engines and was slowly spreading across. There was no way anyone could have…

Relief washed over her as she saw a small dark figure pull itself from the wreckage. She raced toward it to help. Upon closer inspection the figure staggering away had two large ears and a tail. A mouse? Meian shoved it out of her mind. Worry about that later. It collapsed as she drew near, unable to move farther. Meian dropped to its side.

"Are you alright?" She asked hurriedly, her heart pounding hard in her chest.

"Someone's… in there… Riku." It managed in a high voice.

Meian turned her eyes to the burning ship. It wasn't all in flames yet, but if she waited much longer, it would be. With someone trapped inside.

She made a noise of frustration. Alright then. Pulling her blouse over her nose and mouth, Meian ran into the wreckage._ I must be crazy._ She thought. The smoke was thick, making it harder to see, not to mention breathe despite the cloth over her nose.

Stumbling into the cockpit she looked about, quickly scanning for this 'Riku.' The name's origin was unfamiliar, so she had no idea if she was looking for a guy or a girl or even a mouse, if the creature outside was anything to go by. All she could see was a bunch of fallen ceiling panels and where a piece of infrastructure had come loose and skewered one of the seats—wait a second.

Beneath the debris, a hand protruded. She dashed over, clearing the debris off as fast as she could—some of it was deceptively heavy—and stared in horror. The impaled seat had someone in it. The fallen strut pierced straight through the person's diaphragm, through the seat to lodge immovable in the floor. Blood trailed in little rivulets down the metal beam, pooling in a thick puddle amongst the debris. She could only assume this person, this young man, was Riku. He gurgled something, possibly a moan, and tried to shift. His legs moved. Good, the strut hadn't severed his spine then._ How do I get him free?_ Meian could feel herself starting to panic.

His eyes fluttered open, and about two seconds later he became aware of the pain his body was in. The attempted scream came out as a garbled cough; he was choking on his own blood. _Oh, no._ Meian thought desperately, _why couldn't you have stayed unconscious?_

The fire had caught up to them and a portion of the ceiling gave way near them, bending the strut to the side. Riku gasped as the metal he was impaled with shifted and bent. Wait…

If you bent metal far enough it had to break. Meian added her weight to the strut and heard the metal groan. An awful creaking was added to the cacophony as the metal strained. She winced at Riku's pained gasps but dealt with the task at hand. Finally the strut snapped and fell, taking her with it. Meian pulled herself off the floor, gritting her teeth against the pain in her leg. Some jagged piece of metal had left a gash in her calf. The metal had broken off, leaving the end twisted, hooked, and sharp. This was not going to be fun.

"Riku," She called to him, "can you hear me?" Meian laid a hand on his shoulder. His entire body was rigid with pain. He gave a tense nod. His eyes were squeezed shut. "Riku, I have to pull you up over the end of this, it will hurt, so just bear with me, alright?" He nodded again. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. They had to hurry.

Carefully wrapping her arms around his torso as best she could, Meian slowly raised him up the bar, trying not to damage him any more than necessary. She blocked out his sounds of agony, the tears of pain streaming down his face.

They had reached the end. All that was left was to drag that twisted, barbed end through his insides. She swallowed hard. It was probably best no to prolong it. It was bound to catch on something regardless of speed.

One…

Two…

Three!

She hefted him with all her strength over the end, the sound of tearing flesh and metal grinding against bone making her want to be sick. Riku had found his voice, he screamed in such utter agony Meian's stomach twisted and she retched.

Dizzy and nauseous Meian lifted Riku onto her back and began to drag him back through the ship. Her feet burned painfully on the heated floor. Every surface was agonizingly hot. Riku yelped in pain every time she lost her footing and his bare skin came in contact with the fiery floor. Her eyes blurred with tears.

It was far too long before Meian inhaled something other than smoke. She dragged him safely away from the wreckage and collapsed, Riku atop her. He'd passed out. She rolled him off and moved to do what she could for him. Her energy was sapped but she poured all the energy she dared into a healing spell. Willing the wounds to heal, the flesh to be whole. She prayed to whatever deity was listening, _please, let this work. Please, please, don't allow him to die…_

* * *

Poor Riku. I would probably be sadder about writing that if I didn't find the idea of Riku screaming, back arched in pain, so beautiful. As it is, Riku in pain is very attractive. Hence, the scene exists. And he's just too much fun to torture. 


	5. Conscious Introductions

Mickey slowly stirred awake. He smelled smoke, and burnt gummi pieces. The crash. Riku! He bolted upright into total wakefulness. A little too fast, he noted, as his visions swam and his head spun in a nauseating fashion. He stilled and willed the discomfort to pass. Slowly his balance returned, his stomach no longer wished to empty itself, and his vision cleared. His eyes turned frantically to the burning ship, finding nothing but a crumbling pile of slag. Riku…

A grunt of effort reached him. He turned as quickly as he dared. The young woman he had seen was executing what appeared to be a powerful curaga spell on Riku. She was burned and bleeding and sweating with the effort of healing. His eyes turned to the wound she was so adamant to heal. The sight of the grisly hole in his friend's chest made his heart drop from wherever it had climbed when he had seen Riku safely outside the ship. Safe, it seemed, was a relative term.

Voices, though faint, wafted over form the distance. The young woman's head snapped up, eyes wide. She glanced quickly at Mickey and back to Riku and her bloody hands.

"We must go." She hefted herself heavily to her feet. "Are you able to walk?" Her voice, though exhausted, was strong and steady.

"Yes." Mickey responded, getting to his feet. She hefted Riku onto her back, despite his unconscious groans of discomfort, and began to walk away. The voices were growing closer, and Mickey noticed her pace quickened slightly. Riku's blood soaked her shift and began to drip from its hem to the ground. The sight made his stomach clench in worry.

The voices stopped behind them, approximately where the gummi ship once had been. The young woman glanced behind them once, checking their distance from the crash site, and continued to walk slowly on.

"Who—"

"Shh." She interrupted him. "I will be sure to answer all your inquiries that I am capable of answering, but first we must reach a more… amiable location. Follow me, please."

It wasn't very long before a small tidy house came into view. Despite the walk being very short, Mickey desperately wanted to sit, or better yet, sleep. Sleep would be nice.

She pushed the door open with her shoulder, and stepped heavily through, her breathing coming in harsh pants. Mickey followed her into the house, and into a side room. She arranged Riku on a low bed and leaned the far wall to catch her breath.

"You are welcome to speak freely." She intoned.

"Thanks. My name's Mickey."

"It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Meian." She bent and shook his hand. "I am afraid this is my first time meeting the acquaintance of such an eloquent mouse." She smiled tiredly.

"Why 'd we have ta leave so fast?" Mickey asked. Meian pushed herself from the wall and began to gather things from the cupboards that seemed to be all over the walls. Some were quite large, while others seemed too small to put anything useful in.

"The villagers. The world on which you have landed is medieval if not feudal. Anything unusual or out of place is considered bad luck and banished or is considered evil and is burned to purify it. You are quite fortunate that I found you and not those of the village." Her voice was ragged with pain but her hands moved with steady assurance about the powders plants and liquids spread out on the counter top.

Meian began to mix some of the powders and liquids together, producing some very… unique smells. She took a plant, dried, purple, and furry, and set it to steep in the mix.

"If I recall correctly, his name," She gestured to the bed, "is Riku, is it not?"

"Yep, he's Riku." His concern overtook his manners, "Is he gonna be okay?" He almost shouted. Meian smiled, an action which belied how young she was despite her manner and way of speech.

"I hope he will be." From a larger drawer she withdrew surgical instruments and laid them next to the bed. "He is badly hurt." Meian returned to the counter and retrieved the concoction she had left there. She strained the plant pieces from it and set it next to the instruments, along with other liquids she gathered from the cupboards. Meian turned to Mickey. "I know you are hurt and tired, but will you lend me your assistance?"

"Sure, what can I do?"

"Prop him upright, please."

Despite his size, Mickey didn't complain about having to lift a full size human, but couldn't hold back the wince as Riku groaned at being lifted. "Not sound rude," Mickey said trying to keep Riku's hair out his eyes and mouth, "but why?"

"This is a pain relief mixture, and administering is easier if he's upright. I would rather he be comfortable as possible." Meian supported his head and slowly tipped the liquid into his lax mouth. It dribbled right back out. She sighed, took some of the mix into her mouth, careful not to swallow, and covered his mouth with hers, forcing it down his throat. She continued until the container was empty.

"There. He should be effectively drugged until morning. You may set him down now." Mickey gently laid Riku back, his previous groans erased by the medication Meian had given him.

Meian unzipped his coat, carefully removing it from beneath him. His t-shirt he was wearing was burnt and torn and soaked with his blood. Not seeing a better way, she took her shears and snipped the fabric away from his torso and arms, removing it in pieces. The pants had so many tears, the shears were almost not necessary. Unfortunately, a gash made preserving the remainder of his modesty impossible.

In the next hours Meian painstakingly stitched Riku back together, picking out shards of bone and metal as she went. Mickey watched closely, trying not to flinch. For all that he had seen the sight of his friend so close to death and Meian's cool composure toward it made him feel ill.

Meian clipped the last thread, relieved to have finished. She stopped to examine her patient. Long silver hair was matted with blood and terribly tangled. He face, now relaxed with drugs, was young and handsome. He was lean and muscled, a beautiful body beneath the cuts, burns, bruises, and recent stitches. He was too pale though. He had lost too much blood.

Mortal wounds now out of the way, Meian turned to Mickey, "Are you hurt?" Despite the mouse's protests, Meian gave him a thorough once over. All she found were a few minor cuts and bruises, nearly invisible beneath his short fur. She bandaged his cuts and let him go. Michey sighed in relief, and looked at the floor. Trails of blood were everywhere, turning into footprints where Meian had been pacing between the bed and counter.

"Where…?" Mickey asked at all the blood on the floor. "Not all o' this is Riku's, is it?" Meian followed his gaze to the floor, confused, then recognition crossed her face.

"Ah, of course." She gathered her stitching utensils and bandages about her. Meian took the cloth and dipped it in clean water. She hiked up her skirt revealing a deep gash on her calf.

"When did that happen?" Mickey asked.

"It occurred while I was removing Riku from the ship." She flinched a bit, but otherwise dispassionately cleaned her wound. "An accident." Meian added.

Mickey looked away when the woman reached for the needle. She hadn't given herself anything to numb the pain… He shuddered and pushed thoughts of needles sewing skin from his mind.

"I'm finished. You can look now." Her leg was now neatly bandaged in clean linen, the gash effectively out of sight. She gave him an intent look. "Now if you don't mind, I would like to know who you are. More than just your names, preferably." She clarified. Mickey sighed.

"As you know, I'm Mickey; he's Riku. However, I'm also King Mickey of Disney Castle. "He smiled a bit sheepishly, a little embarrassed at the confession of such a high title.

"I've heard of you. You went on a tour of the worlds, so to speak. You brought technology to other worlds. The ones that were Aware at least. Eventually you ended up in Radiant Garden and met Ansem the Wise, as well as a few of his apprentices, correct?" Meian herself had originally come from a world that was Aware, as she had put it. That is, worlds with the knowledge of the existence of other worlds. As such, King Mickey's ventures were news.

"Yep. That's me. Ya sure know a lot, where were ya from?" Mickey asked. Her knowledge some of his exploits shocked him. How much did she know?

"Not just yet. I'll start when you finish." A smile took the edge off her words. "Who is he?"

"Riku's from a world called Destiny Islands. He…" Mickey hesitated. Riku's description involved many things that Riku considered more than a bit personal. "It's not my place to say. If ya want to know, you'll have ta wait till he wakes up and then ask him yourself. Fair?" He spread his hands before him hoping to placate her curiosity for now. Meian looked to the young man asleep on her bed.

He was dreaming, his eyes flicked about beneath his closed lids, observing the dreamscape his subconscious mind provided for him.

"Just one thing. Where were you going? Why did you crash?" She gave him an accusing look, "Gummi ships are very sturdy, they do not just crash."

"We were attacked on the way to a world."

"Very discreet. Attacked by what or whom?" Her green eyes caught him. He was hiding something. Mickey sighed again.

"Heartless and Nobody ships."

Why would they take an interest in your ship?" She continued without waiting for an answer, "Well, I can understand why they might attack _you_, but," Meian stared at Riku's sleeping face, "this has something to do with you both, doesn't it?" Her eyes refocused on Mickey.

"I'll say that much: yes."

"The rest can wait until morning. It's late. You must be tired, and even if you aren't, I am. Follow me, please." Meian led him away from the room to a flight of stairs hidden by a door.

"Will Riku be okay if we leave him there?" Mickey asked, as they walked up the stairs. Without looking at him, she could hear his concern.

"He's relatively stable for the time being, and I will be sleeping nearby. I sleep lightly and will awaken should so much as his _breathing_ change. Do not worry. Your friend will live. At least he will if I have any say in the matter."

The room at the top of the stairs was, lacking a better term, an attic. Meian pulled a sleeping mat and some woolen blankets out of a chest that sat against the wall. Like most of the house, the chest was old and worn, the copper fastenings holding it together had long since turned green with age.

"You can sleep here." Meian said after setting up the meager bed. "I'm sorry it's not more, but I have nothing else to offer. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to return to attending to your friend." And went back down the stairs

Meian was tired. Pain flared from her leg as she limped back down the stairs. Every step sent a jolt shooting up her leg, the tensing muscles pulling at the stitches, threatening to reopen the wound. All things considered, she had gotten off far lighter than her guests, though Mickey seemed to have fared quite well.

A mouse. Well, she had always been told that different worlds held cultures and races beyond description. Mice were well within her ability to describe, so why not? They even held to the squeaky high pitched tones in their voices. If she had met a mouse-person with a deep bass voice she might have thought herself to be losing it. She was well aware of the ranting-like state of her mind, but it kept her focus away from the pain and very long she was invariably going to have.

Riku, laid out on her bed, was still soundly unconscious. She knew to savor that while it lasted, for while she knew little to nothing about him personally, Meian did know that people in severe amounts of pain were somewhat less than calm. Or reasonable for that matter. She contemplated taking something for her own wounds, mostly to dull the pain in her leg, the rest were merely annoying. However, she faced a problem. The herbs and primitive medicines she had at her disposal shared very little in common with the medication from her own world. Most negative side effects had removed from her world's medication, pain killers, decongestants, and the like no longer made one drowsy or incoherent. Not true with these. They were unrefined and unprocessed. Meian grudgingly decided against it. To dull the pain in this case would also dull her awareness and reasoning ability. She would need her wits about her if she was going to help Riku survive the night.

In an effort to keep herself awake, Meian took a cloth and began to clean the blood, gore, dirt and grime from his body. His skin was so pale. Even if you added back the color he had lost, he hardly looked as though he had lived on a tropical island. She bound the wounds as she unearthed them, applying salve to the burns.

She had removed his cloak before attempting her surgery and her attention went to it now. It was a black hooded affair that would have drowned her had she put it on. It was odd though. When he had been wearing it, it had been zipped up most of the way. That strut had gone straight through the front and back of the coat, but—here is where it was odd—there were no holes. There had been when she had taken it off him, but now they were gone. She ran her hands over the fabric and found no flaw, no tear. Meian couldn't even figure what the coat was made from. The weight and drape seemed like leather, but it seemed to be made of cloth. Again, odd.

She put the coat down and fetched a basin from the corner. His hair was absolutely filthy. Matted and covered in drying blood, mud, and god-only-knew-what, it needed a wash. Meian filled it from the water barrel and set it near his head. With care not to move him much, Meian began to clean his hair, finger combing the long strands. The water turned pink, then red. She found herself admiring locks of hair. In the sun it would surely shine like flowing silver. She changed the water and continued.

It took no less than three basins before his hair was clean and a fair few hours more before it was dry. Determined to finish what she had started, Meian fetched a brush and began to gently detangle his hair. Good grief, it was long. She had thought that her hair, reaching mid-back, was long, but his knees when standing! Its texture was soft and smooth, well taken care of. Surprising, considering most men she had met, barring but a few, when they allowed their hair to become long, took very poor care of it indeed.

Leaving his hair loose would only get it the way, and she needed something to do or she would doze off for sure. Meian gathered the strands and began to braid them, over-under, over-under. She reached the end and realized she hadn't grabbed anything to tie it off with. She took a hair tie from one of the cupboards, only to find the braid had come undone and she would have to do the whole thing over. Well, at least it kept her occupied.

Finally finished, she dragged her stool over nearer the bed and settled herself to watch. The night—what was left of it, anyway—was going to be a long one.

* * *

The nightmare was an old one. Not as old as some, but old compared to the recurring nightmares he had acquired since.

It was dark. Black like pitch. It was silent save for the sounds of his friends' screams resonating around him, echoing off of unseen walls, made louder by the utter silence. The cries of agony and sorrow coming from everywhere and nowhere.

He began to run, hoping this way; this direction would be to his friends. They were hurt; they needed him. Each scream tore through him like blades. Making his heart clench in fear. He ran until his legs, burning from exertion, collapsed beneath him. His breath tore at his throat, his legs trembling with fatigue as he tried to stand and resume his desperate search. He clenched his eyes shut in pain and pressed his forehead to the ground in exhaustion.

He began to hear footsteps approaching him, accompanied by the sound of something heavy being dragged. The footsteps scared him. The screams had stopped. He didn't want the screams to stop. Worse than the screams was the silence. The footsteps stopped in front of him. He was deathly afraid of the person standing there. He knew who it was. He didn't need to look. Didn't want to.

"Will you not look, Riku?" A deep voice asked. "Do you fear it so?"

Steeling himself he raised his head, forcing himself to look. The figure before him could have been a mirror image, if it were not for the cold, golden eyes staring out from his face.

"Ansem." He whispered, his voice cracking on the name.

Ansem smiled with Riku's mouth, "Ah. Even in this form you know me." The smile grew sadistic, "You look tired, can you not stand?" There was something…no… someone slumped behind him, held half upright , hanging limp by Ansem's(Riku's) hand holding their shirt collar.

"What a shame, all that effort and you couldn't even save them." He dragged the limp person forward and dropped it in front of Riku. Riku got a better look and instantly wished he hadn't.

It was Sora.

He was covered in blood and burns and there was a gaping hole in his chest over his heart. His eyes were open and staring. He wasn't breathing.

"No." Riku breathed.

"He put up a good fight."

"I should have…" Riku whispered. Ansem leaned over, his face inches from Riku's head.

"But you can't even save yourself. Why would you be able to save him?" Riku looked up into Ansem's eyes, eyes staring at him from his own face. "He died trying to save you from the darkness." Ansem chuckled and summoned a sword, souleater, Riku's sword. "Your turn." His voice was amused. "Die." He lunged, burying souleater to the hilt into Riku's chest.

Riku screamed in agony. He couldn't see, couldn't hear anything but his own voice tearing from his throat and Ansem's laughter fading into the darkness. All disappeared into the pain.

* * *

A piercing scream jolted Meian from her sleep. Riku! Urgency snapped her into awareness. He was dreaming, though not pleasantly, and thrashing in pain.

"Riku!" Meian leapt to hold him down, "Wake up! Stop moving, you'll tear your stitches!" She snapped.

"What's happening?" Mickey had rushed down the stairs.

Without pausing to explain, Meian grabbed the water basin and upended it over Riku's head. His eyes snapped open and his screams stopped in place of his gasping from the cold water. Riku squinted in the light from the window. It was morning and the sunlight streamed through the window.

"It's bright, I know." Meian said, "This world has two suns after all."

"Who are you?" Riku asked and tried to sit up. He didn't get far. He gasped in pain that stole his breath and thought.

"Do not move." Meian commanded, easing him back down. "You'll tear your stitches." She was mildly irritated at having to repeat herself, but let it slide. He hadn't exactly been awake for the first.

"What the…" Riku gasped, discovering that even breathing hurt, "…hell happened… to me?" Every inch of him hurt, and the inches he could see were covered in bruises.

"We crashed." Mickey said, "She pulled ya out and stitched ya up." He smiled brightly, "And I'm very happy ta even see ya awake this morning." Turning to Meian, he said, "Thank you, for what you have done for us." He bowed to her gracefully.

"You are most welcome." She answered.

"Who… are you?" Riku ground out.

"Oh, how rude of me."

* * *

"My name is Meian." She offered a shallow curtsy in, Riku noted, a blood stained nightgown. A good deal of it was probably his, if he guessed correctly.

He wasn't sure what to make of the situation. She was relatively normal looking, though she had very vibrant green eyes. And looking as though she had dyed her hair brown and let the roots grow out, revealing a blood-like red color. She seemed well brought up, judging from the curtsy, and educated if her speech was anything to go from. He had been, apparently, rescued by her, and was now stuck in her care until he recovered from his near fatal wound. Great.

Riku's entire frame thrummed with pain, it was manageable as long as he held still and didn't breathe too deep, but any real movement and his world became consumed by sheer agony. He was examining the wounds in his, admittedly limited, vision when he noticed something.

He was naked.

"Where the hell are my clothes?" He snapped, immediately regretting it as the breath he had taken lanced through his torso. He stiffened, a choked whimper left his lips. Cool hands stroked his forehead and spoke soothing words he couldn't quite hear.

"You need to be more careful." Her voice, he noted in his pained daze, was a soft alto, "Can you hear me, Riku?"

"Yes," He answered softly. The pain had receded enough to answer, though his voice sounded tired.

"Good. Now there are a few things you need to be aware of. Number one: You are in critical condition. If you overstress your body you could easily die. Do you understand?"

He tried to nod, discovered it hurt too much, and settled for speech, "Yes."

"Good. Number two: I do not tolerate cursing. Curses and foul language are the product of a crude and uneducated mind. If you do not wish for me to sew your lips shut, I recommend abstaining from that particular portion of language."

Riku opened his eyes in astonishment. She was chastising him! He couldn't even _breathe_ properly and she was chastising him! And all in that soft comforting tone. This was going to be fun.

"Number three," she continued without waiting for his answer, "your clothes are too badly burned and torn to be considered clothes any longer. I will make new ones for you in due time. For now be content with the blanket." She picked up the edge of the blanket that was covering him from the waist down. "Any questions?"

Riku's expression became irritated, "Not for you." He turned his head slowly, ignoring the dizzy nausea that came from the tiny motion, to look at King Mickey (ignoring Meian's softly spoken, "How rude."). "What's the damage?" He managed weakly.

"The Gummi ship is beyond repair. It's nothing more than a pile of broken, melted slag." The mouse looked utterly depressed. Riku returned to staring at the ceiling. Okay, maybe they were stuck here for longer than however long it took him to recover.

"So we're… stuck here?"

"For now." Mickey said hopefully.

"I'm not even… going to reply… to that." Riku groaned, fearing the worst. Living in darkness for so long had made him rather pessimistic, occupational hazard.

A knock came from the door.

Meian jumped eyes wide. Riku felt her mood shift. To one he knew all too well. Aware and battle ready. Whoever or whatever had knocked on the door, it was not welcome.

"Mickey, hide. In the attic. Go." Her voice was quick and low, leaving no room for argument. "Riku, look dead."

_Shouldn't be too hard._ He thought.

Meian scrambled about in a pile of laundry for a brief moment before pulling a bathrobe out and wrapping it around herself, quickly hiding her bloodstained shift. She padded over to the door and opened it.

"Yes?"


End file.
